152 THEORY OP THE EARTH. 



all events, the Babylonian, or first Assyrian em- 

 pire, could not have been long powerful, as there 

 remained all around many unsubjected tribes, such 

 as all those of Syria, until after the establishment 

 of what is called the Second Kingdom of Assyria, 

 The thousands of years therefore which the Chal- 

 deans assumed, must have been equally fabulous 

 with those of the Egyptians ; or rather may be con-, 

 sidered as astronomical periods, calculated back- 

 wards upon the basis of inaccurate observations : 

 or merely as imaginary and arbitrary cycles, mul- 

 tiplied into themselves.* 



The most reasonable among the ancients were 

 of the same opinion, and have only carried back 

 the reigns of Ninus and Semiramis, the earliest 

 of the conquerors, a little more than four thou- 

 sand years. After them history continues long 

 silent;t whence it may even be strongly suspected 

 that these were only late inventions of the his- 

 torians. 



Our existing civilization and learning have been 

 uninterruptedly transmitted down to us from the 

 Egyptians and Phoenicians, through the Greeks 

 and Romans; and we have derived immediately 

 from the Jews our more pure ideas of morals and 

 religion. Some small portions of knowledge have 



* See Memoire of D. de Guignes in the Acad. des Belles Lettre?, 

 Tom. XL VII. and the voyage of M. GentH. I. 41. 

 f See Velleius Paterculus and Justin. 



